An online talk titled “Outcome-Based Education (OBE) Briefing 2.0” was organised by the Centre for Foundation Studies (Kampar Campus) on 17 August 2022 via Microsoft Teams.

The talk was delivered by Centre for Foundation Studies (Kampar Campus) Deputy Director for Student Affairs and Development Lim Khiew Loon and moderated by CFS academic Tulasi Subramaniam. It aimed to introduce UTAR students to the focus and framework of UTAR OBE and its processes.

Lim started the talk by defining the target of Outcome Based Education. He said, “The Outcome Based Learning has been implemented for some time at UTAR. It represents a paradigm shift from traditional models of education as OBE focuses on outcomes rather than grades. The OBE emphasises on the skills and activities rather than grades, and consequently represents a better benchmark to evaluate students based on their respective disciplines. OBE also mainly focuses on what is essential for students for their learning experience.”

Furthermore, Lim also highlighted the advantages of OBE. “Since OBE shifts the focus from teacher-centred learning to student-oriented learning, it is proven to be able to encourage student’s interest more effectively, hence resulting in an enhanced learning experience. With OBE, the students are able to see how well they have achieved in each criterion known as course outcome and would be able to improve their skill sets more effectively. The traditional grading system does not allow this as students would be too engrossed in chasing after grades. I believed OBE is the way forward if we want our nation to progress,” he added.

Before ending his talk, Lim proceeded to illustrate the UTAR OBE Processes and Framework. Lim provided a detailed explanation on Programme Educational Objectives (PEOs), Programme Outcomes (PO) and Course Outcomes (CO) and how these elements fit in UTAR’s Six Educational Pillars and Eight MQF LODs. Finally, Lim demonstrated a short animation to summarise his talk and hoped that the audience will be able to spread awareness about OBE.  

The online talk ended with a Q&A and group photograph session.